Al-Malik - He is the Owner of the universe, of th0e whole creation the absolute Ruler. Allah is the only Ruler of the entire universe, visible and invisible, and of all creation, from before the beginng and after the end. there is none like Him because He is the Creator of His kingdom, which He created hom nothing.

Only He knows the size of His kingdom, the number of its population, and the strength of its armies. Only His will, His rule, and His justice exist. What happens is what He wills; what He does not will will never happen. He does not need His kingdom, His kingdom needs Him.

He rules by Himself; He does not need any help to rule. He has created the universe as a workplace for His creation, and He has created the Day of Judgment as a great court of justice. In this world, we plant our deeds. On the Day of Judgment, we reap their rewards. Everyone will receive the result of his or her doings. There is none other than He in whom to take refuge.

Servants of Allah who come to know their Master, finding the meaning of that Divine Name in themselves, will become sober from the drunkenness of believing their fortunes, their high positions, and their fame to be their own. Those who have served worldly kings as gods will wish instead for the Master of their masters. All will know that they are not left on their own in this divine kingdom, but that there is an absolute Ruler who sees “a black ant crawling on a black rock on the darkest of nights,” as well as the most secret thoughts and feelings passing through minds and hearts. Everything that we are, and everything that we do, is watched and recorded; all will be accounted for on the Day of Judgment.

A person who knows al-Malik, even if he is a king, will know that at best he is a shepherd charged for a short time to care for a flock that is not his. To the extend of his conscientiousness, hard work, and devotion, he may expect to be rewarded by his master. If he is a bad shepherd, killing and roasting the lambs, drinking all their milk, letting the wolves ravage the flock, he certainly will be punished. When his duty as a shepherd ends, he will have to give an accounting. It is better to put one's accounts in order before the day that they must be submitted.

'Abd al-Malik is the one for whom his Lord is enough. He does not need anything from anyone except from his Lord. People who reach such a state are given power and control over their own life and actions. Their Lord appoints them as His deputies, rulers in their own realms, for the kingdom of man is his own being. Our subjects are our tongue, our eyes, our hands, and our other members. Our armies are our ambitions, our desires, our lust, our anger. If we can control them, and if they obey us, Allah will let us control the lives of others as well. Thus, 'Abd al-Malik is a servant who has been given the power and control over his own life and actions as well as the lives of others to the extent of the orders and will of Allah. The manifestation of the name ya Malik, the absolute King of the universe, upon a servant of Allah is the hardest to bear and the most powerful of the attributes manifested in human beings.

If someone truly comes to a state where his Lord is sufficient for him and keeps remembering this Name, he will appear to everyone as awesome and be respected by all.

According to tradition, Khidr (a.s.) taught the following prayer to be recited 100 times over sick person: “Allahuma anatl-Malik ul-Haqq, ulladhi la ilaha illa anta. Ya Allahu, ya Salamu, ya Shafi” and thrice 'ya Shifa al-qulub.” (Our Allah, you are the True King, other than whom there is no other god. O Allah, O Source of Peace, O Healer; O medicine of hearts!”) If Allah so wills, a cure will follow.

Al-Quddus

He is the most pure one, devoid of all blemish, shortcoming, weakness, heedlessness, and error.

Al-Quddus is the equivalent of the attribute mukhalafatun lil-hawadith. He is the Creator “bearing no resemblance to the created.” This is one of the five qualities that indicate the non-resemblance of Allah to anything.

Al-Quddus is the unique purity that is Allah's whereby His essence, His attributes, His names, His words, His actions, His justice, are devoid of all blemish. He bears no resemblance, in any of His attributes or actions, to even the most perfect of His creatures. Even the most perfect creatures have something lacking in their essence, attributes, actions, judgments, or words. For one thing, they are temporal, while Allah the most perfect, the most pure, is eternal, free of time and place. Before existence there was no time and no place, but Allah existed.

The believers who understand and feel this divine purity will wish to praise Allah for His perfection (taqdis) and will remember to avoid attributing any qualities that are defective or any temporal imperfect state to Allah (tasbih).

To find the feeling of al-Quddus in ourselves, we should protect our understanding and knowledge of things from being limited to observations and impressions received through the senses, for they will not take us past the animal realm. In addition, the knowledge fit for human beings should not be a product of our imagination. One should work on cleansing one's faith by eliminating doubts. Faith is a whole: the existence of a single doubt blemishes it. One should try to cleanse one's devotions and prayers by sincerity. Sincerity in prayer is to pray to Allah for Allah's sake, for one other purpose, seeking no other benefit. Otherwise the prayer itself becomes shirk, the unforgivable sin of associating equals with Allah. One should try to cleanse one's heart by abandoning bad habits: bad habits are like garbage and thorns, and our hearts are Allah's houses.

'Abd al-Quddus is the one whose heart is cleansed and purified, and contains nothing but Allah. A heart filled with Allah is safe from everything else. The manifestation of the name Ya Quddus, the Most Pure, can only appear in the pure heart described by Allah in the Holy Tradition: “I do not fit into the heavens and the earth, but I fit within the heart of my faithful servant.”

If someone with a pure heart recites ya Quddus 100 times a day, his heart will become free of all the thoughts and concerns by which we cause ourselves trouble, worry, and pain.

As-Salam

In the Qur'an Allah says that the Beneficent Lord sends a salam, or peace, blessing, protection, salvation, and salutation to the faithful in Paradise (Surah Ya Sin 57). In this verse Allah al-Rahim rewards the faithful with the security and joy of the wished-for Paradise. He is the one who saves believing servant from all dangers, bringing them peace, blessing, and security in the Hereafter. As-Salam is this state of being free of all fault, error, danger, and trouble. In this it resembles the divine name al-Quddus, but it pertains to the future. It also means the one who is persisting, uninterrupted, unfaltering, unweakening, continuing to eternity. Allah is always the source of safety from all that is bad for His creation. None of the Lord's actions are aimed at harming His creation, although at times of pain and trouble which we cause ourselves, we may think that our suffering is His will. When an arm has gangrene and must be amputated, one rarely considers how such a loss will save one's life. In every pain a blessing is hidden.

Those who find the peace and security of as-Salam in their hearts believe in and depend on Allah in all their affairs, and know that by the grace of that name they will be saved from all dangers and difficulties. When they are saved from a danger by someone, they see the real Savior although they are also thankful to the intermediary. A Turkish proverb says, “Don't lean on a tree that will only dry up and decay. Don't depend on people, they will only age and die.” The one who depends on Allah as-Salam, the Savior, will never panic. Allah's strength will show itself in such a person as the fearlessness of the believer. This is the manifestation of as-Salam.

Patience is also a manifestation of as-Salam. Allah says, “If I give a pain to my servant either through his body or possessions or his family or children and he encounters this with strength of patience and belief in Me, I would be embarrassed to weigh his deeds and to look into the books of his actions on the Day of Judgment.”

'Abd as-Salam is the one who has cleansed his heart from hatred, envy, treachery, and vengeance. He is able to protect all his members from performing wrong and unlawful acts, and has saved his being from the slavery of his ego. One he has reached such a state, Allah protects him from all trouble, need, and shame.

If such a person, who is the master of his ego and under the protection of his Lord, recites ya Salam over a sick person 160 times, by the will of Allah that person may find health.

Al-Mu`min

He is the illuminator of the light of faith in hearts.

He is the Comforter, the Protector of the ones who take refuge in Him. Faith is the security that protects one from all dangers; therefore it is the greatest gift of Allah. The absence of fear in the heart of the believer commensurate with the degree of his faith.

We all have enemies who continuously try to harm us, to disturb our peace, to lead us astray. The worst of these enemies are our own egos and the accursed Devil. The tyrants, the maligners, the enviers, come after them. When one says, “I take refuge in Allah,” one takes refuge in the attribute of al-Mu`min. He never refuses anyone who takes refuge in Him. But to have faith in al-Mu`min, one first has to have faith! In Islam there are three degrees of faith.

1. Confirmation of our faith by our words so that others hear that we believe in Allah, in His Prophet (saaws), and in the truth of all that he said and did.

2. Confirmation by our acts: doing what is lawful and abstaining from what is unlawful.

3. Confirmation by our hearts: the firm belief, without any conditions or doubts, in the truth of the Prophet's message.

What is essential is faith in the heart. If that leaves, may Allah protect us, one enters the ranks of the nonbelievers. Whoever confirms his faith with his words while his heart is not with Allah is a liar. Whoever goes as far as acting as if he had faith is a hypocrite. But if a person is faithful at heart, and for some reason cannot declare it or cannot act upon his faith, he remains faithful.

Watch your faith and your actions as a believer: that is the reflection of al-Mu`min. Be the dependable one in whom others find security. Be a person who does not deny help to those who take refuge with you, and you will have a taste of al-Mu`min, the Most Secure.

'Abd al-Mu`min is one who has been given refuge by Allah from all disasters, pain, and punishment. The property, honor, and life of others is safe with and saved by the servant in whom the name al-Mu`min is manifested.

If a person in whom the name of al-Mu`min is manifest calls on a Mu`min 36 times and takes refuge in Him when he encounters hostility or danger, by the will of Allah he will be safe